Dark Light (The Dark Light Series) (37 page)

“Well, whatever you did, thanks!” Miguel says.

“Yeah, babe, that was awesome.” Jared cozies up to Aurora and kisses her on the cheek. She giggles like a schoolgirl.

We order an array of appetizers and drinks and dance around our little section. After several overpriced, pretentious cocktails, we’re all feeling pretty spirited. Jared and Aurora are dancing closely in a corner while Morgan and Miguel flirt and chat on the couch. James has made friends with a group of girls here for a bachelorette party. Which leaves me- pitiful, lonely Gabriella. 

I decide to venture out to the main dance floor to get away from the PDA. The party is lively and infectious, and I quickly ease into the crowd. My head is a bit foggy, though I feel totally coherent as I feel someone come up from behind me and begin to sway with me. At first I think it’s just James playing around, but then I feel warm lips on my ear and cool breath on my neck. My body begins to tingle from head to toe, and not in a good way. The hairs on the back of my arm stand to attention and my body feels heavy as if it has been submerged in quicksand.

“Align with the Dark or die,” a voice whispers. Even with the music pounding loudly in my ears, I hear it clearly.

I quickly spin around but no one is directly behind me. My eyes dart around frantically at the sea of tipsy party goers. No one seems to be paying me any attention. The tingling sensation has ceased and I go into survival mode, crouching into a defensive stance, my fists hard and tight. Someone from the Dark is here. They’ve followed me. My thoughts are racing a mile a minute and I can’t seem to line them up with my actions. 

My friends.
I quickly weave through the crowd and make my way back to our private section. Jared, Aurora, Miguel and Morgan are still there, totally oblivious to my alarmed expression. James. I have to find him. I make my way back out to the main bar area. I don’t see him anywhere and the giddy women he was sitting with are all still seated in their booth. Shit. James is gone.

Fear snarls in my belly, blood pounding in my ears as my eyes dart around frantically. This isn’t supposed to happen. My friends are supposed to be safe! And here I am, half-drunk and unable to even defend them or myself! An involuntary whimper at my pathetic vulnerability escapes my lips, followed by a choking sob.

“Gabs?” I spin around to face a familiar pair of green eyes.
Thank God!

“Holy crap, James, where were you?” I crush my body against his, genuinely happy to see him.

“The bathroom. What’s wrong?” James embraces me hesitantly, puzzled by my sudden anxiety.

“Nothing. Just got scared when I didn’t see you,” I mumble with a shaky voice.

“Come on, I think you’ve had one too many martinis,” he chuckles.

I let James lead me back to our friends. Miguel and Morgan are dancing to a slow song and Aurora and Jared are making out on the couch, her body draped over his lap. I’m too shaken to care and turn my body away to ignore them. 

“How about we head back to the house and jump in that hot tub!” James shouts over the slow, sensual music. He gives me a little wink, indicating that is motive is to get me home to sober up. At this point, I feel completely coherent but I play along.

After we’ve closed out our tab, we grab a taxi and make our way back to our vacation home. My friends are still rowdy and restless with intoxicated energy and we all disperse to put on our bathing suits. I’m more thoughtful and cautious than anything else but reluctantly change out of my dress into my swimsuit. I’d rather stay indoors than venture out next to naked in the frigid air but I don’t dare let my friends go out there alone. Who knows what could have followed us home.

“Come on, girls! We’re waiting!” Jared catcalls from the hot tub. He, James and Miguel are already there with a bottle of tequila and shot glasses.

Morgan sashays out first, flaunting her fuchsia sequined bandeau bikini as if she is a runway model, despite the freezing temperatures. The guys erupt into playful hoots and hollers. I follow, a towel wrapped around my black monokini, ignoring the requests to reveal what’s underneath. Aurora is last, of course, strutting with catlike grace in a bejeweled teal string bikini that leaves little to the imagination. The guys nearly burst with hormone-charged glee. I don’t resist the urge to roll my eyes, and grab a shot and down it before anyone else. The conversation is casual, consisting mostly of Aurora telling us about her travels around the world. A few more shots later, she straddles Jared and I take that as my cue to go to bed. James, Miguel, and Morgan soon follow. 

After a hot shower, sleep comes surprisingly easy. Again, my dreams are vivid yet distorted. Just flashes of different scenes, like frames from a camera. A picture of all of my friends together, laughing, happy, united. Then in the next flash of light, they all begin to fade away, each one by one. Darkness swallows the frame, and there’s…nothing. The dream shifts again, manifesting into a horrid nightmare. My friends, shown sprawled out in different locations, their necks ripped wide open, blood sprayed on every surface. Their eyes are open, cold and vacant. They were living witnesses to their own deaths. But there’s something else. Their eyes are now blue. Bright, glowing, icy blue.

I jerk awake in the dark room, my eyes wide and searching for some sign of familiarity. It’s suddenly become very cold and I shiver violently. I sense movement at my bedside and reflexively turn to look. Someone is here. A shadowy figure stands but a few feet away from me. I can hear my heart beating like a drum in my ears, and I can’t will myself to breathe. My chest aches, gripped by the unleashed scream caught in my throat. I am frozen with immense fear. 

This is it. He’s found me. The Dark One is here with me, alone in this room.

My trembling hand mindlessly reaches to flick on the bedside lamp. If this is my demise, I want to look at death in the face. I want to stare into the eyes of this Dark Warlock as he massacres me. Light floods the room with bright intensity, revealing that no one is there. I am alone. But I know I saw someone. Someone was definitely here hidden in the shadows. I sit up and rub my eyes, scanning the room for any sign of movement or disruption. Just seconds ago I was dreading death, and now I am searching for it. 

The faint sounds of raucous lovemaking interrupt my search for my would-be assassin. The moans are melodic and high-pitched. The soprano voice sings praises to her lover, climbing higher and higher in ecstasy. Aurora. Aurora’s cries of pleasure are for Jared. Tightness again grips my chest, causing me to gasp for air. I can hardly breathe; the air in the room has become extremely dense. I pull on my robe and slippers and pad out of the bedroom, desperately trying to escape this reality.

“Can’t sleep either?” Morgan whispers as I enter the kitchen. She’s dressed in a colorful kimono with a silk scarf wrapped around her hair.

“How can I?” I say nodding my head towards the bedroom shared by Jared and Aurora.

“I know, right? Damn! You’d think Jared’s dick was made of gold,” Morgan shakes her head. Leave it up to her to say what I was thinking. “You ok?” She stirs a cup of what looks like tea. It reminds me that I haven’t had my second dose of herbs. Crap.

“I’m alright. It’s just weird between us. And seeing Jared like this with some girl we hardly know…” I shrug and walk over to my purse to retrieve the little container housing Donna’s secret herbal mixture. I place a scoop in a coffee cup and add some of the hot water that Morgan has heated. I’m not sure what it could possibly do. They already know who I am.

“Yeah, I don’t know how you’re doing it. I don’t think I could be ok with this.” She takes a sip of her tea. “When does Dorian get here anyway?”

“He told me Saturday. So later, I assume. I gave him the address before he left so I guess he’ll just show up whenever.” 

“Well, at least we’ll have some time to relax. Though I highly doubt I’ll be able to look Aurora or Jared in the eye ever again.
Ewwww
,” she cringes. “They’ve been going at it for over an hour now! I mean, damn!”

I chuckle and shake my head. There’s not much I can say to that. I’m no prude but witnessing proof of their sexual activities is a bit much for me to stomach. I drink down the bitter herbs and turn to Morgan’s solemn expression. Something else is bugging her.

“You ok, Morgan?” 

Morgan looks around, as if someone else is here. “I had a dream. It scared the shit out of me.” Morgan swallows hard before looking down nervously at her teacup. 

“Ok, what happened? What was it about?” Whatever it was, it has clearly shaken my usually poised friend.

“There was an old lady in it. She told me darkness is coming. She said it will kill us all.” Morgan closes her eyes, as if to erase the image from her sight. “It was my grandmother. I know it was; I could
feel
it. I swear, Gabs, it was like she was right next to me!” 

I walk towards Morgan and wrap my arms around her. She is panting wildly, clearly petrified and disturbed. I don’t know what to tell her. I, too, know that darkness is coming. It was already here. 

“Hey, how about we head to your room and have a sleepover like we used to do? Isn’t there a TV in there? I bet we could find some old cheesy reruns to fall asleep to.” 

I give Morgan a reassuring smile and she eventually nods. After placing our empty cups in the sink, I usher her to the master bedroom, thankful that it’s farther from Jared and Aurora’s love nest. We put on an old black and white sitcom and make idle chitchat until we eventually fall asleep, both trying to clear our minds from the ghosts that haunt our dreams and realities.

**********

“Breakfast is ready!” James calls from the other side of the door. He knocks again before opening the bedroom door, finding Morgan and I slowly stirring awake. “Oh, if I would have known it was
that
kinda party, and would have asked to join!”

“Shut up, James!” We shout in unison.

“Ok, ok, just letting you girls know that Aurora made breakfast.” He closes the door, leaving us to slink out of bed.

“I bet she did,” I mumble. 

“Especially after the hurtin’ Jared put on her last night. Bitch probably woke up singing,” Morgan adds. She groggily makes her way to the bathroom while I slip on my robe and retreat to mine. 

Ten minutes later, I make my way to the kitchen in sweats and a t-shirt. I have on no makeup, my hair is pulled back in a ponytail and I honestly don’t care. I’ve gotten very little sleep and Aurora and Jared’s sexcapades didn’t make it any easier. If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be them. Yet, they are laughing and smiling as if the entire house didn’t bear witness to their most intimate sounds. It’s as if I have just stepped into the Twilight Zone.

“How do you like your eggs, Gabriella?” Aurora beams from behind the stove. Oh God. It seems as if sex has made her even more chipper.

“Whatever everyone else is eating is fine with me,” I respond munching on a piece of bacon. I go to prepare my herbal tea when I notice the container isn’t where I left it. “Hey, has anyone seen a little plastic container with some tea leaves in it?” I call out.

“Oh that?” Aurora says. “I didn’t realize that was yours. It didn’t smell fresh so I assumed it was left here. I poured them down the disposal, thinking it could possibly be drugs or something. Sorry!”

There are no words. I just see red. Bright, blood red.

I nod slowly and turn on my heel to head back to my room. Hushed voices behind me question what my problem could be. Before I let my temper get the best of me, I click the door shut and block out the world. If Aurora knows what’s good for her, she will stay the hell away from me.

**********

“So do you think she did it on purpose?” Morgan whispers. We’re at a spa on Main Street, and while I was hoping for a relaxing afternoon, Jared insisted Aurora join us for some girl time. 

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past her,” I whisper back. 

Aurora is in one of the treatment rooms getting a body scrub.
Too bad they can’t scrub that fake smile off her face
. Ugh, I really wish I could stop harping on her and just enjoy my massage. 

“Feeling any better?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

“A little. Thanks for that last night. I really did not want to go back to sleep.” I wish I could tell Morgan that I felt the same way after my own nightmare, and then waking up to find someone in my room. But that would only scare her more than she already is.

After our massages, pedicures, manicures and facials, I feel a lot better, though Aurora’s presence keeps me from relaxing completely. She insists on treating us to lunch as an apology for discarding my herbs and I reluctantly agree. 

“Ms. Winters, your visit today has been taken care of,” the front desk receptionist responds handing me back my debit card. I had been internally cringing in expectation of the damage displayed at the register.

“Huh?” I reply dumbfounded.

“Your treatments have already been paid for,” she clarifies.

“By whom?” There must be some mistake. 

“Mr. Dorian Skotos, ma’am.”

My eyes widen with shock but it pales in comparison to Aurora’s look of sheer disbelief. I don’t dwell on it though; I’m too excited at the prospect of seeing Dorian.

“He came here?” I ask the receptionist, barely containing my joy.

“No ma’am. He called with his information.”

I try to mask my disappointment with a shrug and a smile, thanking the receptionist before exiting. Aurora leads us to a popular sushi bar nearby. She is just bursting with glee at the fact that she gets to order in Japanese for us. If it weren’t for the fact that we’re sitting close enough to see the chef preparing our maki and sashimi, I’d think she would have instructed him to poison me.

“So I’m assuming you and Dorian are doing well, Gabriella?” Aurora asks as the waitress brings us our sake.

“We’re fine,” I respond.

“Oh, Dorian… So restless. It’s so hard for him to settle down with anyone. I’m sure Jared told you about our history, that is if Dorian hadn’t informed you already,” she smiles sweetly.